A High School Queen
by MusicEnthusiast
Summary: My name is Allie Pennington and I am the reincarnation of King Arthur Pendragon. And I'm only 16. Mordred told me that many more besides him would be against me and he was right. More right than I ever wanted to admit.  Marco-Allie/Will
1. Prologue: Times Have Changed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avalon High or any of the characters except the ones which I created. **

**And, while I have the highest respect for history and am trying to keep as accurate as possible**

**I do not have a high respect for research.**

My name is Allie Pennington and I am the reincarnation of King Arthur Pendragon. I am a 16-year-old girl, and I hold my court in the cafeteria at my high school, Avalon High- home of the Knights. Knights that happen to sit at my table. How the entire football team ended up sitting with me is mostly the fault of my boyfriend, Will Wagner, my knight in shining armor, and QB.

During the football game that qualified us for state, Will was attacked by our European history teacher, Mr. Moore, aka Mordred. He thought, as I did at the time, that Will was King Arthur.

It ended up being me. We defeated Mordred that day. Marco, Will's step-brother, ended being a part of the Order of the Bear, and instead of hating us all, he had been trying to protect Will all along.

We won the football game. And I got my knight in shining armor to kiss me.

Mr. Moore wasn't sent to jail, but he was given a prescription for halluciation medication.

Something that Mr. Moore said stuck with me. That he was not the only one who would try to stop my ascension to power. That many others would work to destroy me.

I didn't listen at the time. But then it came back to me. I thought I would be attacked by outside forces, and that did happen, multiple times, but something worse than all expectations happened as well. And it nearly destroyed me.

I was betrayed.

Being betrayed by him was almost more than I could bear. My heart was crushed, my soul suddenly lifeless, at a time when I could not afford to be weak.

Thank God for the one who got me through it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avalon High to my ultimate sadness. But I do like writing about it.**

**Oh, and just so you guys know. I am totally into Marco and Allie. So... just a hint.  
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Chapter 1

Marco honestly didn't know why he bowed. It was an instinct that he followed, and while he was on his knees, his head inclined to honor his queen, it felt right.

Allie only saw it as slightly awkward, he could see it, as she gave a nervous laugh and said in a forced normal voice, "The bowing's going to take some getting used too."

He raised his head, looked at her, wanting to say the words that had just entered his head_ Oh, but you will be bowed to by many, Your Highness, with me, you can be yourself. _It didn't make any sense, not any, so he just held his tongue, and waited for Allie to Miled to go through the exit to stand and follow them back to the football field.

He didn't go into the bleachers, instead stood down by the entrance to the locker rooms. He watched his brother, but a great deal of his attention was taken up by Allie and Miles, who had climbed to their seats, and were now enthusiastically cheering Will on as he made the winning touchdown.

Marco stood and watched the celebration. Will was lifted onto shoulders and paraded around. Lance had Jen in a tight, joyful embrace, and, as Will was set to the ground, he ran to Allie and gave her a kiss.

Standing unnoticed in shadows, Marco watched jealously as Allie kissed his brother back.

They made a cute couple, he tried to convince himself as he turned to leave. At midnight, he had a meeting with the seven knights, the leaders of the Order of the Bear.

They were expecting Will to have been King Arthur, not some unknown girl, and they might even blame him for the mistake, and how close Mordred got to their king.

It was a long walk to the headquarters, a surprisingly Arthurian building that had been the main headquarters for the past two years. Since Will had shown real potential of being King Arthur reincarnated.

A long walk away from Allie and his brother's kisses.

He told himself he had no right to be jealous. She didn't' trust him, no one did, after his self-imposed exile into the dark side.

Will was perfect for her: kind, chivalrous, gentlemanly. And he himself. What was Marco Campbell compared to the great Will Wagner?

Nothing.

Marco had a duty to protect Allie now. Be her devoted servant. Will was the one she loved, and he had to accept that.

He wasn't important enough to even be included in her inner circle.

Marco clenched a fist by his side and raised it to his heart in a silent pledge that he would protect her, be an honorable knight in her court, deserve her trust and praise.

The tall double doors opened like magic. It was exactly midnight and Marco was being invited in. It was time to tell his story.

He stepped smartly across the threshold, past the columns and statues of the entrance hall to the doors exactly across from the ones he had just entered.

Again, the doors opened of their own accord and Marco entered. This time the doors shut behind him. He was standing in a darkened room, the only light came from candelabras around the walls and a chandelier. In front of him, on a raised dais sat a half-circle table, sitting there were seven men, all wearing the distinctive jerkin and cape with the crest of the Order of the Bear worked onto the front.

Marco walked forward, into the light in the center of the room.

"Marco Andrew Campbell, son and prodigy of Colonel Travis Carter Campbell, deceased in service, son of Jean Laura Campbell, and prominent figure in suspected King Arthur's life. Has been undercover as a dark agent, trying to get Mordred to confide in him. Here to report the state of King Arthur, risen."

He could honestly not tell who was talking. As far as he could see, none of the seven men were moving at all.

After a few seconds of silence, the man in the center, who had more wrinkles than any of the others, even the one sitting on his right who was extremely decrepit, said, in a querulous voice, "Report."

Taking a deep breath, Marco began. "After the meteor shower and the lunar eclipse, I took Will Wagner to the student theater to tell him about his destiny as King Arthur, however, before I could tell him, we were attacked, and I can only guess it was Mordred."

"Attacked by Mordred, with no one else around, " it was the man second from the left who spoke. "Did you take any precautions, boy."

A murmur went around the table.

Marco lifted his arms in a sort of silent plea. "I did use all precautions I know of. It was almost like Mordred was expecting it. His attack on us was completely unexpected, and I was knocked unconscious."

He could feel their disappointment in him, but continued. "When I regained consciousness, I had been dragged outside, and when I ran into the theater, I pushed Mordred into the orchestra pit to stop him from hurting Will."

A general murmur of approvement ran through the council, " You stopped Mordred from harming King Arthur," said the guy to the immediate left of the center.

Marco shook his head, " I rescued Will from Mordred."

"Surely by now, this William Wagner has accepted his fate as the Bear, and we must call him as tradition demands," the man in the center reprimanded.

"I cannot refer that name to a false king."

Marco was expecting the collective gasp. He had just called the person the believed to be their reincarnated hero a false king.

Several stood, pointing, shaking fingers and saying "Blasphemy," repeatedly. Others looked too frail to react only leaning back in shock.

One man did not react like the others. He sat on the very right end and, though he was the youngest of them all, he only looked at Marco quizzically, as if judging his words.

He stood, and with a resounding voice said, "Stop. Stop your quarreling and listen to the boy, for his story is not over. King Arthur has returned this night, I felt it, all of us did. And this boy's crest has turned gold," (Marco looked down at the insignia of the Order and realized it was true.) "That can only happen when it is in close proximity to Excalibur. Let him finish his tale, and judge afterwards," he looked at his fellows. "And no interruptions."

Marco knew by the quiet authority in his voice that this was the leader of the leaders. He sat, relaxed, in his chair, conveying power in every look, gesture and movement. He inclined his head to Marco. And Marco nodded his thanks.

"While I was unconscious, two others had come to Will's aid, Miles Myrrdin, also known as Merlin, and Allie Pennington, a newcomer to the school in Will's confidence.

"Both had figured out about King Arthur and Mordred, though they mistakenly believed I was Mordred. I explained I was a member of the Order of the Bear who had been spying on the real Mordred."

Nods were going around the table, but, as ordered, no words.

"Mordred rose from the orchestra pit, and threw us all back with the staff he carried. Allie got a costume sword to protect Will.

"However, as Mordred raised the staff to attack, the sword in Allie's hands became Excalibur, proving Allie Pennington to be the real, reincarnated King Arthur."

The uproar this statement cased was instantaneous, but a raised hand from the leader instilled instant silence.

Marco continued. "King Arthur fought Mordred. Will, Lance Reynolds-Lancelot, and I also fought as her knights. Merlin regained his staff, and Allie defeated Mordred.

"He was led away by police, under suspicion of attacking a student."

A moment of his silence was all it took to breat the dam blocking the torrent of response. Again, all it took to stem the noise was one hand raise, this time with only one finger up.

All of them got the message, loud and clear, one at a time. But who first? The finger swiveled until it was pointing at the man on the left side of the half circle.

Marco could see the hidden smile on the man's face as he orchestrated the other six, one who was twice his age, at least.

"You mean to say," said the first man. "That we were mistaken all this time? When we thought Will was King Arthur."

"I think that Will might be the reincarnation of Kay, King Arthur's foster brother, many people thought he was going to become king, it was a complete surprise when Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone," Marco answered, he had thought about this on the long walk over. "He is an advisor to her." In more ways than one, Marco thought of the kiss.

The man nodded, it obviously made sense to him. He sat and hit the table with his fist.

The next man's complaints questioned him, Will, Miles, Allie most fervently, and at it's worst questioning of his sanity, he even said Mr. Moore might be the best choice for King Arthur.

At that point, the two on either side of him stood him forcibly up, and escorted him out. Marco was glad, if he had heard any more complaints against Allie, he probably would have punched the guy.

When they returned -only two- the next asked about Excalibur and Marco went into almost reverent detail about the legendary sword, how when Allie had raised it in defense of who she thought was the real King, a light had appeared and suddenly the prop sword had become the significant Excalibur.

Many were smiling dreamily at his description of a sword none of them had ever hoped to see in their lifetime.

The man in the center now stood. "What part do you play in the King Arthur re-incarnation?" His directness caught the boy by surprise.

Marco thought. It hurt to realize he probably wasn't anyone important to the new Queen. "I believe I am one of the more trusted knights Sir Gallahad or Sir Percival."

"You are not one of the inner circle then? How did you end up at her christening then?"

Another question he would rather not answer. Marco sighed, "I am not one of her inner circle. And I was in the right place, even in the stories Arthur ket at least one of his knights with him."

Three more, Marco told himself, as that man sat with muttered approval. The man directly to the right passed, he was certainly the oldest there and seemed content to listen to the others.

The next asked for detail about Allie. "Everyone trusts her, she's just one of those people you can't help but like. I know that Will has confided in her when he was having problems. And I know that even Mr. Moore like her. It probably kept her alive. She's everything we could ever have hoped for."

"How about her parents? How is she with her parents?"

Marco remembered Will going on and on about dinner at Allie's house. "She seems to be really respectful, and," he remembered Will talking about how she was so close to them, and how they joked around, and had fun. "I think they really are close. They joke around all the time and they really love her." They love her so much they were at the football game, he thought.

Now the last man, the leader. He stood up to address his question to Marco. He walked away from the dais to stand right in front of Marco, staring into the boy's eyes as he asked. "Do you have any feelings for Allie Pennington?"

And Marco stared right back into the man's blue eyes and lied. "I do not."

"You are loyal to her as your King?"

"I am."

"And you will be loyal to us as your Order?"

"I will."

"Give the oath." Six pairs of eyes stared at Marco as he knelt.

Six pairs of eyes as he crossed his arm across his knee.

Six pairs of eyes as he bowed his head.

"To the Order always faithful, to the Bear always true, true to Arthur, King of old, faithful to all who call me brother."

Marco kept his stance as tradition insisted until he got a tap, almost like a Knighting, on his shoulder.

As he stood, he saw the look in the blue eyes. A look of triumph, but it disappeared quickly, and yet again he spoke. "Even with the Oath, you are still the newest member of the Order of the Bear, and you are very young. We will be assigning another member to watch out for the King."

Appalled, Marco said, "I can handle it."

"I also say, it is your duty to protect her. It will take a week to get another member of the Order here. Until then, she is your charge. You are excused."

Fuming, Marco stormed out. It was against tradition and code to stay after excused, and he had definitely been excused. Almost kicked out.

He didn't want to go straight home. Will was amazingly reliable at being curious and asking a lot of questions. Marco didn't want to deal with that right now.

What he really wanted to do was go see Allie, talk to her, be her friend.

No. He couldn't not at all. There was going to be another member of the Order watching and reporting everything that happened at Avalon High.

He could not show that he liked her. Not at all. This would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. Hide his feelings. He was used to hiding his feelings about Will, but that was different, Will was easy to be annoyed with. Allie, Allie was a different story. It was part of her charm that she wasn't easy to get annoyed with.

He walked to the lake. It was his spot, and relatively secluded this late at night. He couldn't remember ever even telling anyone about the lake.

His father had found out, but Marco had never told him. And now his father was dead.

No one knew about 'his place' and he planned on keeping it that way.

He sat on the bank, the beach was a mess of pebbles, sharp rocks and sand, something that probably led to its unpopularity as a make-out spot.

It was perfect for Marco. He was lulled by the gentle movement of the water. His hands caressed by the sand and rocks.

He thought about Allie. He wished he hated her, but he really couldn't. It would be much easier to act like he didn't care if he really didn't.

No, he would never wish that. She was his queen, and he would honor her as such.

Getting to one knee, he crossed his arm, resting it on his knee, his other hand on an imaginary sword. He bowed his head, so his forehead was resting on his knee.

"I pledge, but the lake, the blood and the sword that to her I will be faithful, against all other oath and promise. She will be the call I answer. To her I give my loyalty, my friendship, my knowledge, my strength and my love. To her. To my Queen. To my Allie. Long live King Arthur."

Marco raised his eyes to the heavens, receiving approval from the stars for his actions.

And he smiled. He and Allie were now irreversibly tied. By an oath he had made that almost directly conflicted with the Order of the Bear's oath, whose oath was made to control him. This oath was a profession of fealty.

To King Arthur.

To Allie Pennington.

To 'his' Allie.

Marco smiled.

**I made a list of 20 things you didn't know about Marco, and so here is one. **

**20. He and Will were actually really good friends before his dad died. They were close. Almost like brothers. Then Will became popular and Marco started wearing all black, and suddenly, even though they were actual brothers now. It really didn't work out between them.  
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	3. Chapter 2: Long Live The Queen

**SORRY it's taken me a while. I have work constantly and I don't think I've slept a full 8 hrs for the entire summer. Lucky me. **

**but here it is. Chapter two in my saga. Lucky you. And because this one isn't with Marco's pov, i won't give you the interesting little tidbit about him.**

Chapter 2: Long Live the King

After the football game, Allie drove home with her parents. They seemed perfectly content to ignore her in the back seat. If they hadn't, she was pretty sure that they would ask for every single detail of her two glorious kisses with Will, and while she was quite happy to relive them over and over again, she would rather it only be inside her own mind.

Happily, her mother was still talking about how the return of Arthur should have happened that night, and her father was being disbelieving.

At least it was that way, until they got home.

"Wait, dear, wasn't Will still in the locker room when they went and continued the game?"

Allie's father looked at his wife. "I guess so."

"And that's when Allie got up and left with that little friend of hers," Nicole Pennington was getting very excited now. She turned to Allie. "You went to find Will, didn't you sweetheart."

Allie, who had been trying to get upstairs turned and said, "Yes, Mom?"

"Did you find Will? Did he become King Arthur?"

_Well, this is awkward_ Allie thought, as she tried to come up with a polite, truthful, but not truthful response to that. "Yeah, me and Miles found him."

"Miles and I, Allie," her father corrected automatically. He was a college professor, after all.

"So," her mother urged her to continue.

"And he was just feeling sick in the locker room. We made him drink a little and lie down, but he insisted on going out and playing. Said his team needed him. That's just how Will is."

"He didn't turn into King Arthur?"

"You kissed a sick boy?"

Allie's parents' reactions were perfectly timed, perfectly together and perfectly opposite.

_Crap, _she thought, looking at her father's incredulous, slightly disappointed face, a face that showed very clearly how startled he was by her lack of judgment when it came to kissing boys.

Her mother, of course, noticed nothing. She was so distraught in the fact that her Order of the Bear leanings had brought her nothing that she was in her own little world, surrounded by the cold, pressing walls of the dark ages.

"Nope, nothing," Allie said blithely, and escaped to her room.

Her mother wouldn't drop it, Allie knew, and she felt horrible just lying to her parents. She needed advice. This wasn't a decision she could make alone.

Flopping down on her bed, she grabbed the phone and dialed 7 recently memorized numbers.

"Miles, my parents keep asking about King Arthur!"

"Well, yeah," the boy on the other end said. "They're medieval scholars, Allie. You can't expect them to just drop it. Especially after we told them it was true."

"I just don't know what to say. Should I tell them the truth? I just don't know," Allie whined, picking up the book of the Order of the Bear from her bedside table.

"Do you want to be a freak for the rest of your life?"

"No."

Miles sighed. "Then don't tell them, Allie. Your parents are great people, but medieval scholars having a daughter who's the reincarnation of King Arthur. They would go insane, and you'd be a freak. Even with your own parents. With Will it would be a phenomenon they would want to study. With you, they'd probably forget you're Allie and only treat you as Arthur. You don't want that."

Allie dropped the book and the phone, and hurriedly picked the phone back up. "Why do you always have to be right, Miles?"

He got defensive. "I just see things."

"I know you do, Miles," she flipped over onto her back and kicked her feet up towards the ceiling. "I'm just really confused right now. Everything's happening too fast."

"I know it is. I just barely found out I'm Merlin and now I have a girlfriend."

"Wow. How's that going?" Allie hadn't remembered. At the football game, Miles had finally gotten together with his long term crush. She felt like a horrible friend. Luckily, Miles didn't see it that way.

Miles laughed, almost sounding joyful, but considering it was Miles, Allie marked it off as a trick of the phone. "She's wonderful! Likes chemistry and math and school. She's absolutely perfect, Allie."

Allie laughed too, at the happiness in his voice, and the fact that it was Miles who was sounding so happy. People did change, she figured. "What's her name?"

"Oh, yeah," Miles obviously remembered that he had never told Allie a name, "Her name is Mareanne. Mareanne Langston. But Allie, I really have to go, it's ten. I'll talk to you later."

The sky was black and red, and looked sickly, the light hitting the ground in a way to make it seem like you were standing in a pool of blood.

Allie had no idea how she had gotten there.

It seemed like another world, but it wasn't. She was standing in front of the main doors of Avalon High.

The high school looked spun by shadows and pure evil, and Allie did not want to enter, but as the double doors opened to meet her, exposing the abyss-like hallways, she felt strangely compelled to enter.

And did so.

There were no lockers in this dark version of her high school, and no doors except the ones she had just entered, and the ones at the other end of the hallway. On either side, instead of classrooms, there was darkness, and holes where one might enter the neverending dark.

And yet, none of it worried the single girl walking through.

Allie felt no fear, in fact, she felt nothing, as she passed through the school, coming to a second set of doors that opened for her as the first ones had.

The entire football field was that same blood-like color. The running track, pure black. Even the normal blue bleachers were dulled and distorted into a brownish-grey.

She continued. Past the field, the track, the bleachers and the locker rooms. She knew where she was going now.

The student theater looked positively malevolent, with the strange lights and bloody props.

The same sword she had used against Mordred found its way into her hands. At least, she thought it was the same. The way this sword gleamed black as onyx with spilled blood was exactly the opposite of Excalibur.

She raised it, and suddenly, there was another with her.

The woman walked toward her. She was swathed in a frothy green dress that trailed behind her in water-like waves, her brown hair was also wavy and trailed behind her.

Allie raised the sword. The woman smiled slightly and lifted her hand, pressing it to the side of the sword.

It shined. In the darkened world, Excalibur shown silver and bright. But when the woman removed her hand the sword again gleamed dark.

"You dare to use the sword against it's mother?" The gentle grin, the chiding tone seemed so familiar to Allie. "You know me child, but not in this form." The woman chuckled as she answered Allie's thoughts. "I was the first lady of the lake. I stayed by your side through your first life, and I shall be with you throughout this world. I shall never leave you

"But all I know may be gone very soon.

"Dark days are coming, and all I know may not be enough, but my new form has an urge to protect you that is unlike anything I have felt before."

"Who are you?" Allie whispered.

Again, that slightly disappointed smile. "I am the mother of the blade, the Lady of Avalon, and your Protector."

Allie was still confused, but as she went to ask more, the lady held up one graceful finger to shush her.

"I do not have much time. Neither do you. If what I have seen comes to pass, you will be in grave danger. My form is in danger. And we. I. Am the only one standing between you and the gathering darkness."

Allie took a deep breath. Her surprise at becoming King Arthur was nothing compared to this.

"You must become King in your own right. I will stand beside you for all of time. And so will one other, but many more will you have to lead in the coming battle, and you must be their King. You must become who you are destined to be."

The rushed question escaped her lips before Allie had a chance to stop it. "What do you mean?"

"I cannot tell you." This said with a sympathetic smile. "Not now, and nowhere near everything. It is not allowed. All I can say is be warned. Please. Be careful." The woman drew Allie to her and kissed her forehead. Allie, for some reason felt extremely comforted. "I am so proud of you, Arthur. I know you will take care of me."

And she was gone.

Allie looked around. With the woman there, there had seemed to be a radiating silvery-blue light all around. Now, though, the entire room was black again, except for faintly silver footprints, now slowly fading.

As she turned to leave, she was assaulted by a large, black raven. It's wings beat against her head and shoulders, it's claws raking her shoulder and attacking her face, forcing her to the floor.

The world went black and a voice resounded around her.

_When the King is betrayed_

_And the Protector pained,_

_Then shall the Witch take the throne,_

_And Darkness shall cover the Earth._

Monday morning, Allie could hardly remember the dream. In fact, she could not remember anything except the voice piercing through the darkness.

She didn't remember the woman at all.

Her mother drove her to school in silence, she still wasn't fully aware after finding out that Will was not King Arthur, and Allie was not going to get into that discussion again.

Yet, as they pulled into the school's parking lot, her mother spoke. "Your father says not to go kissing that boy again until we know him better. And definitely not if he's sick."

"Yes, Mom," she promised docilely, getting out with her backpack.

Will was waiting for her just inside the doors, but, as he leaned down to give her a kiss, she held up a hand to stop him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, hugging her instead, still with a bright grin on his face.

"My father doesn't want me kissing you."

"Well, fine!" And he swooped down, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "If he insists."

Allie grinned. Will's good humor was infectious. He led her down the hall, his arm through hers, to her locker.

Spotting Marco with some of his friends at the end of the hall, she raised an arm, waved and called out his name. "Marco!"

She knew he had heard her, because his head looked up and he focused on her for a moment, but then his face changed and she saw a momentary flash of longing and fear. Then he turned away and disappeared down a different hall.

Troubled, Allie turned to Will as they reached her locker. "Do you know what's wrong? He's acting strange."

"Don't worry," Will advised. "He's been like that ever since Saturday. I think he's confused, probably about you being Arthur. I don't think it's anything important."

Allie turned to her locker, still slightly troubled, but willing to accept Will's advice to just let it go.

She heard Miles before she saw him. As she went to close her locker door, she heard his frantic voice calling her name. Seconds later, she saw to actual boy himself, hurrying down the hallway, probably the quickest he had ever gone in the school.

"Allie," he said, stopping by her and waiting a few seconds so he could catch his breath. "Allie, Mr. Moore is still teaching!"

"What?" Will said disbelievingly. His arm tightened on Allie's waist, unconsciously pulling her closer. "That's not possible. He was arrested. He was sent to prison."

Miles grimaced. "He was arrested, yes, but he wasn't sent to prison," he told Will, "I went to get the book I left in there on Friday and there he was. Sitting at his desk. He yelled at me and I ran."

The boy looked absolutely terrified and he grabbed her shoulders. "Allie, you can't go. Not to his class. He'd try to kill you again."

She looked at her best friend, and her boyfriend. "Not with so many people around. He's not stupid. He couldn't try anything with the whole class there. As long as there are other people he won't try anything," she said decisively, knowing if she looked uncertain, there was no way that either would let her go.

Miles still did try to argue, but Will laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't try to argue with her. She's got her mind set." He looked at her like she was crazy, but didn't try to stop her as she led the way to European History.

"I have reviewed the projects handed in to me last Wednesday." Mr. Moore's glare never left Allie as he paced around the room. She kept her head down, and slumped in her seat. The obvious hatred spitting out in his voice scared her more than she would ever admit.

"And I have decided that none are satisfactory."

Miles looked stunned. They had worked hard on that paper. Even Allie's parents had said that they had done a 'very good job.'

"If you do not want to fail in this class, you will do the make up project. I will assign different partners and there will be different topics."

Everyone's hand came up. This was a required course. If you failed it you would just have to repeat it the next year.

Mr. Moore looked pleased. "I will assign these new projects next Monday. For the next week, we will be reviewing basic Arthurian legends, since none of you seem to know anything." He smiled maniacally.

The class groaned. Review. Notes. Probably a very hard test. Allie exchanged looks with Miles and Will, both shrugged at her. Miles waved his lion pen at her. And she grinned.

Then she looked at Marco. He was staring at her, and there was something in his eyes, some kind of pain, or anger. Was he glaring at her? Was there a chance…

She quickly looked away, down at the paper on her desk. Dropping her pencil, she leaned down to pick it up and whispered to Miles. "Do you think Marco might really be evil? That he's just playing us?"

Miles looked at her worried eyes, as she straightened and looked at him through the corner of her eyes. She bit her bottom lip and looked completely vulnerable. As stealthily as he could, he shook his head.

Allie relaxed a little, but kept sneaking glances at Marco, and then looked at Miles for his reassurance.

When the bell finally rung, they stood quickly, but as Will reached Allie's side, Mr. Moore called their names.

Slowly, they walked up to his desk, Allie flanked by Will and Miles. All three stopped about a foot away from his desk.

"Do you think you'll get away with it?" Mr. Moore hissed at them, when he was sure no one else could hear. "Do you think there will be no others who will try to stop you?"

Allie unconsciously took a step back. Miles and Will stepped in closer to her; bodyguards.

"You are only a silly little girl. The world does not want you!" He snarled. "They do not want King Arthur and they definitely don't want a teenage girl who thinks she's better than anybody else."

Allie didn't try to defend herself, only shrank a little farther away. Her eyes were down, and she didn't intend on letting the European History teacher know he was frightening her.

Beside her, Miles bent and clutched his head. Though his visions came easier now, they still caused him great pain. Standing straight, he reached across Allie and grabbed Will's arm. "Come on, Will, we have to go now! Jen's getting hurt." And when Will looked worriedly at Allie, "Allie will be fine. You will be fine." He told her, and dragged Will out of the now almost empty classroom.

Mr. Moore turned to look at Allie, his eyes turning devilishly red as he glared. "No one will believe you. You have no one, except for those two, and they won't even stay here to protect you. And I won't stop. Not ever."

He lunged, grabbing her wrist and dragging her closer to him. Allie shrieked.

And Marco stepped out of the shadows and in turn grabbed the teachers arm.

"Let her go," he ordered, tightening his grip until Mr. Moore released Allie.

Their teacher glared, rubbing his wrist as Marco stepped in front of Allie, keeping him away from her. "Ah. The little bad boy turned rescuer. If this is all the protection you have, you will be gone in moments." And he laughed, a terrible, high pitched laugh.

Marco, if anything, grinned at Mordred. "I will always be there though," he said. "If you try to do anything to her, I will stop you. Always." He put an arm around Allie's shoulders and led her from the room.

As soon as they were in the crowded hallway, he dropped his arm, Allie looked at him, almost wanting to say something to her rescuer, but Marco didn't give her the chance. He inclined his head in a slight bow. Whispered, "My Queen," and kissed his middle knuckle before pressing his fist to his heart in a kind of salute.

Then he ran down the hallway, not giving her a chance to say anything.

Allie looked after him, more confused than ever. And whispered to herself words that she didn't know she knew. And she couldn't imagine where they had come from. "The mother of the blade, the Lord of Avalon, the Protector."

She wondered what the three things meant. And why she had said them while thinking of Marco.

Releasing her thoughts, at least concentrating on not thinking them, she hurried to her next class, content for the moment, to leave Marco in the shadows of her mind. She would figure him out later.


	4. Chapter 3: All In Time

Chapter 3: All In Time

Miles cornered him during P.E. It was not totally unexpected, Marco admitted to himself, though how the lanky teenager managed to be sitting next to him for stretches when Marco had been trying to avoid him was something he would never understand.

Marco very pointedly ignored him.

"You know, Allie's been asking about you." Miles knew where to hit, as underhanded as it was using Allie to get a response out of him, Marco couldn't ignore anything where his queen was concerned.

Almost definitely against his better judgment, Marco turned his dark eyes on the other boy. "Asking about what?"

Grinning at his success, Miles reached to touch his toes, but his flexibility failed him. His arms stopped just past his knees and refused to go farther.

The gym teacher, a pudgy man in his mid-forties named Mr. Gunnal stopped behind them and sighed at the nerd's back.

Marco chuckled.

Trying to regain some of his lost dignity, the boy straightened from his stretch as Marco completed touching his toes, and deigned to answer the question asked. "She thought you were glaring at her in history and asked if you might really not like us."

Marco straightened, quickly enough that his elbow banged into his knee. "What?" This was not something he had been prepared to hear.

She still thought he might be evil? Might explain why she was so distant towards him when he rescued her from Mr. Moore. She hadn't said anything after that. And he might have been a little brusque-he didn't want to chance it that a member of the Order might see him- but he had been late for his next class, with a teacher that didn't tolerate tardies, and she still hadn't said anything.

"She thinks you're mad at her," Miles continued, standing to try his stretches with gravities help. "I know you're not. I saw that you would never let anything hurt her. I'm getting better at this Merlin thing." Miles laughed at the look on his companion's face as he let his arms dangle. "I know a lot more than I seem too."

Marco stared, until Mr. Gunnal loudly blew his whistle at him. He stood as well, and started on lunges. Who would have guessed that the only one who knew anything more than they had three days before would be Miles. "But you still do that whole head thing," he stuttered, trying to make sense of what he had learned. Three days ago Miles had not even wanted to get any of his prophetic visions because of the pain it caused him. Marco had seen him almost double over in European History that day as he received a vision. What could have changed?

Three short blasts on Mr. Gunnal's worn out whistle signaled the end of stretching and the beginning of running time.

Miles stood up straight, and pressed his palms to his head to combat the dizziness of blood rushing away from his brain. "When I'm trying to see something or find something out, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Jogging in place, to continue his conversation, Marco grimaced. This was not good for his secrets. "What do you know about me," he asked worriedly. If all his work to keep no one from finding out about his secrets were a waste because of this boy, it would not be a good thing.

Miles and Allie were best friends.

King Arthur and Merlin.

Confidantes.

If Miles knew Marco's secret, then he would tell Allie. Which would ruin Marco.

As Miles finally started slowly jogging, he smiled at Marco devilishly, if Miles could ever be devilish. It was more as if he was trying to smile evilly, but it just looked liked he was grinning. Not even a proper smirk.

"I know how much you like her," he said with unusual emotion in his voice. Marco sighed.

There it went.

Miles smiled that weird trying-to-be-evil smile again. "And I'll never tell here. That's your deal."

When Marco looked at the other boy, Miles quickly ducked his head. Baffled, he continued staring.

He had always thought Miles a tattletale, a teacher's pet. Preppy and high-strung. The kind of guy who talked back to the bully because he thought he was superior.

Yet here he was, with more information swimming in his head than Marco could even imagine, and yet he wasn't acting at all like he was better than him.

Miles was being friendly and offering advice. Maybe this was what Allie saw in him. For the first time, Marco had a small idea of what Miles was like around Allie.

Allie had a way of looking at people and seeing them. She made friends based on their best personality traits, not looks, popularity, or money like many of the girls at Avalon. She would see the best in people, and like Miles, those things that Allie saw began to shine through to make them better people.

The more Marco thought about it, the more in awe he was of her. He smiled at the thought. That was his queen. That was his Allie.

A snap of Miles' fingers brought Marco from his thoughts.

"Careful," Marco was told. "I could tell you were thinking about her." Miles lowered his fingers as he examined the boy in front of him carefully. "You got this slightly goofy smile and your eyes sorta glazed over."

Marco shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair, mussing the style. Why was this so hard for him? It shouldn't be this hard. He shouldn't like her this much. It was bad for him to like her this much.

Again Miles snapped his fingers. "Stop it," he ordered.

Marco gave him a sheepish look and rubbed a hand down the goosebumps on his arm. "I don't know if I can. It just happens."

Miles gave him a look that said very clearly that he was a hopeless case and he should be very grateful that Miles was going out of his way to help the poor, defenseless, lovesick, pathetic person that he was.

Marco laughed a little. More at the look, which seemed extremely out of place on Miles' face than at the fact that he was lovesick.

Miles shoved him.

For some reason, Marco liked the gangly boy, at least, this new incarnation of him. He had disliked Miles for the last two years, but now. Yeah, he liked him, this new Merlin, Allie's friend side of him.

He was pinched.

He remembered something then. Parts of the old stories of King Arthur. Merlin had not only been King Arthur's advisor and confidante, he had been a confidante to all the Knights of the Round Table. Merlin had walked unstopped through castle and keep conversing with everyone. In some versions, he was the local priest, receiving confessions. In others, a walking magician, who was called on to heal ailments and sores.

He had been one of King Arthur's dearest companions, but he hadn't only been the King's.

The whistle blast feet from them made both Marco and Miles cringe and turn. Red-faced Mr. Gunnal panted behind them, obviously very angry that they had not continued running. He yelled at them both to get their butts back into action and chased them to it with more high pitched squeals from his whistle.

The two exchanged a last look, and they started to run.

Standing in the locker room doorway, with his backpack slung over one shoulder as he waited for the bell to ring and release him, Marco was surprised at the hand on his shoulder.

He turned to face Miles.

"We weren't done talking," the boy said, feigning anger at being ignored.

"What else do we have to discuss." Marco was ready to put the whole thing behind him. The more he talked about everything, the more people could overhear. Talking about it in the middle of gym class was one of the worst decisions he had ever made.

Miles leaned closer, probably sensing Marco's unease.

"Allie still thinks you're mad at her," he said simply. Marco stiffened. "I can tell her that you're not, but she's willful, and if she gets an idea in her head, she needs to see it disproved."

Marco turned. Yet again with the Allie weakness, but this was a problem that could not be ignored. He needed to be able to stay close to her to protect her, but if she thought he was still evil, she wouldn't let him stay near.

"What can I do?" Marco hoped that his personal feelings, the ones that kept him from thinking logically about anything relating to Allie, didn't show in his eyes.

Miles grinned. "Allie needs a friend. Will is her boyfriend. She made a few friends on the track team, but they're not enough. Be her friend. She's looking for someone to trust with her secrets, and she doesn't hold grudges. If you're kind, and you don't hurt her, you'll be close to her. Maybe even closer than she is to Will."

Marco gritted his teeth at Will's name. Petty jealousy was not good for him, he knew, but his step brother was dating His Allie. Petty jealousy was unavoidable.

"Are you going to be sitting with us at lunch?" Miles asked as the bell rang.

Shaking his head, Marco escaped into the quickly filling hall. "I'm eating with a couple of my other friends. Maybe some other time."

The other boy nodded, and gave a friendly wave a he separated to go meet Allie as she came out of English.

Marco made his way to the cafeteria, bought himself a piece of pizza and made his way to the corner where he and his friends usually hung out while they ate. It was mere feet away from the table that the football players usually sat at, a table that now included Allie and Miles, as well as Will, Lance, Jen, Clark Justin, Levi Armstrong, Annabeth Sanchez and Courtney Reese.

It was a perfect spot for watching out for his step-brother. And now for Allie.

DanI-ay (her real name was Danielle, but she had searched for ages for a unique nickname) greeted him warmly, by stealing his lunch. Marco didn't really mind. DanI-ay had black dyed hair and a tongue piercing. She was also extremely good at math and had a list of exes a mile and a half long. She now exclusively dated college boys, said they were more 'fun.' But she was harmless, a little scary-looking, but harmless.

Now she slung an arm over his neck and led him back to the group, as she one-handedly rolled up the pizza and took a large bite.

"Where've you been, Campbell?" Todd punched him in greeting. "We went out mail-hitting. Got a few good ones." Todd could have played football, if he wasn't against all things school-related. "You disappeared for an entire weekend!"

"It's not that long, dude." Marco felt extremely welcomed, but there was still a feeling that he didn't belong there.

"So what's up with you." DanI-ay leaned against Todd, her long term boy-toy. "We heard about you and the Alley-girl. And you and Will making all brother-loving."

He backed up a step. Attacked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't try to play coy with me, Goody-Two-Shoes, Jesse saw you and the Nerdy-Boy-Wonder playing all nice-nice in gym. What's wrong with you?"

Marco backed up another step.

"We made a promise a year ago that every time we saw that punk, we'd give him a piece to remember us by. Do you remember that? Or did Alley-girl take away all your spirit." DanI-ay put a black-gloved hand on her hip and jabbed a finger into Marco's chest with the other hand. "You're outta the group, Man-my-Man. One undertaking would have been fine, but this is six in the last three days."

He tried to stutter out a response. Nothing came out, nothing was useful against DanI-ay's wrath.

"You can stay here. Lean all broody against the wall and watch over Alley-girl, but we're leaving."

The black-haired girl led the way, and Todd, Jesse, Rickto, and Lizza followed her to an opposite corner.

He couldn't honestly say that it hurt very much to watch them leave.

Almost instinctively he turned to look at Allie's table. She looked over at him, and their eyes met, and she motioned with him to come over.

Miles was right, he thought, she is very forgiving. He slowly walked over and settled between Miles and Levi. It was the best seat in the circumstances. Allie was on Miles' other side, her hand loosely interlocked with Will's.

Another stab of petty jealousy coursed through him, but he forced it down and smiled up at the girl. His Allie. His Queen.

She smiled radiantly back at him.

And then something unexpected happened. The world started to dissolve, but it didn't. It came back into focus, and the cafeteria was gone, sitting around a round table were the knights of Allie's-Arthur's court. Stately and controlled Jen, sitting with her hands folded lightly in her lap, her hair entwined into a braid.

Lance stood with a hand on her shoulder, a purple and gold jerkin worn over his armor.

Will also wore his armor, with a red cape flowing over his chair behind him.

Miles was in his Merlin robe, and most of the others wore armor with cloaks or jerkins.

Allie, Allie's image kept flickering in his eyes, one second she wore crown and armor, the next, a medieval styled gown. In any case, she was lovely. Her golden hair flowed over her shoulders, and Excalibur hung in a scabbard at her waist.

Marco looked at his own clothing and was startled to find, that alone out of the knights, he wore no armor. He wore dark brown leather breeches, and a black shirt, over the shirt he wore a dark red and grey tunic and a dark red cloak over that. A sword was belted around his waist, and a key shown on a chain around his neck. But no armor, anywhere.

Allie stood, and unsheathed her sword, holding it out to the center of the table in a sort of salute. One by one the knights, and Marco, followed suit. This was their queen.

But Marco was no knight. He wore no armor, nor shield. Not even a coat of arms embroidered on his tunic. For the first time, Marco was scared that he didn't belong in Allie's world, but as the world again became fuzzy, as it dissolved back into reality he heard a couplet in his mind:

All things will be known

When the Queen takes her throne.


End file.
